Tiny, Loveable, and Inspirational
by Rounin
Summary: Miku receives a rather large and ominous birthday gift from her music producer, who is currently on vacation. She knows his fondness for eccentric items, but this definitely takes the cake. What she finds in the package is even more unexpected...and cute. Written for Miku's 10th anniversary!


Hello everyone! As I have mentioned in my profile, I had a Vocaloid fanfic in the works and here it is! The idea for this crossover story came to mind after watching an anime called How to Keep a Mummy (which I recommend because it's really cute). I also realized that it was the Vocaloid's (but mainly Miku Hatsune's) 10th anniversary last year so this story was also written for the occasion. One of the Vocaloid producers wrote a specific song for the anniversary and it's my hope that you pick up on its reference as you read this story.

Having been on hiatus for a long time, my writing is a little rusty, but I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I had fun writing it! And please don't forget to leave a review! I would appreciate any constructive criticism.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Vocaloid (and the song referenced) or How to Keep a Mummy.

* * *

"If this is your idea of telling me what song we'll be working on next, I'm not amused."

With a heavy thud, Miku set a large coffin against the wall of the dining room. Catching her breath, she inspected the enormous object. It towered over her by an inch or two and the exterior was painted in dark purple. A large golden cross was emblazoned on the lid, reminding the girl of those vampire movies she would watch with friends.

As she continued to look at its exterior, she noticed an envelope jutting out from the left side of the sealed lid. Pulling it out, she flipped it to see her name written on the front in somewhat-messy handwriting.

"This is Master Saiba's handwriting for sure." Taking out its contents, she found a photograph of a man taking a selfie in front of a pyramid. He had a silly grin and was posing with a thumbs-up. Flipping it over, she found more writing:

 _Miku,_

 _I came across this little guy during my travels and thought he needed a good home. Take good care of him because he'll be a part of our family now! Think of this as my advanced birthday present! See you soon!_

 _-Saiba_

 _P.S. By the way...don't mess with his bandages ok?_

"Bandages?" Bewildered eyes looked back at the foreboding coffin. Her music producer, Saiba, had an odd habit of sending Miku and her friends "clues" to hint what song they would be working on next. These eccentric gifts varied in shape and size, and while she trusted him not to send her anything dangerous, this giant casket was definitely out of the ordinary.

She skimmed through the letter again. If he said it had bandages, could that mean...

A knock sounded from the front door, snapping her from her thoughts. Standing, she went to the living room and opened the door revealing Kaito holding two bags full of groceries. He gave her one of the bags, which had a small bundle of leeks jutting out from the top.

"Here's the stuff you asked for."

"Thanks." she said, taking the bag as the two of them headed into the kitchenette. "Uh...so Master Saiba sent us-well, me, something."

Kaito put his bag down on the counter. "Another one of his song gifts?"

"Not really...he sent it as a birthday gift." she said with a nod as she placed her bag down next to his. "But...I'm kind of afraid to open it..."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because it came in _that_." Miku looked back at the coffin against the wall in the dining room. He followed her gaze and nearly fell to the floor in shock.

"What the heck is that?"

"It's a coffin, stupid."

"I know it's a coffin. What's _inside_ it?"

As if on cue, the lid of the coffin began to move, alarming the two. They searched the kitchenette in a panic, grabbing whatever they could to defend themselves with. Miku armed herself with a frying pan while Kaito grabbed a fork.

The lid continued to open slowly...

Without warning, Kaito grabbed Miku by her tie. "Hide!" He quickly crouched down behind the counter, pulling her down with him. The teal-haired girl yelped in surprised, blushing as she ended up having to lean over his back to regain her balance. She quickly forgot about her predicament when she heard small wheezing sounds coming from the dining room.

"Kaito-"

"Shh!"

The two slowly poked their heads out from behind the counter, watching in apprehension at the floor where a bundle of yellow-white cotton had spilled out. From behind the giant casket's lid stood a pint-sized mummy. Its stubby hands rested on the side of the lid as it let out tiny little breaths.

Slowly, the two stood and approached the little mummy. Having recovered its breath, it looked up at Miku, extending its stubby bandaged arms towards her. Keeping her grip on the frying pan with one hand, the girl knelt, gingerly offering her other hand. Without hesitation, it happily wrapped its arms around her pointer finger, making small squeaky noises as it nuzzled her finger affectionately.

Miku's heart immediately melted at the sight. "Aw...you're not scary at all!" Leaving the pan on the floor, she gently scooped the little mummy up with her other hand and stood. "Isn't he such a cutie, Kaito?"

Kaito was still not convinced. He reached over and picked up the mummy by its chubby torso. The mummy flailed about as he held it up with his thumb and pointer finger. "It might be cute, but it's a mummy."

"So?"

"It might eat our brains out or something." he said, kneeling and pushing the cotton back into the coffin with the fork. He dumped the mummy unceremoniously on top of the fuzz pile.

"Kaito, those are zombies, not mummies." Miku corrected him. "Besides, Master Saiba wouldn't send us something dangerous."

"Maybe, but we shouldn't keep our guard down just because it looks 'cute'." he remarked, pushing the lid back into place. "We're sending it back to him."

"Kaito..." she pleaded. The coffin shook once more, catching her attention. "Huh?" The lid slid back open on its own. The little mummy revealed itself once again, its body shuddering as tears streamed from its eyes.

"It can cry?" Kaito asked in shock. In response, Miku whacked him on the head with a fist.

"You idiot!" She quickly bent down, scooping up the crying mummy in her hands and bringing it close to her. "It's ok, little guy. He won't hurt you, promise." Its tears stopped flowing at the sight of her face. With a happy squeak, it ran towards her placed its arms on the tip of her nose.

Still rubbing his sore head, Kaito went to the counter to retrieve some paper towels. He knelt to wipe the floor, still in disbelief that the undead could still shed tears.

Miku checked the clock on the wall above her. "We should have some lunch before making the preparations for the dinner party." She looked back at the mummy in her hands. "What do you think?" It happily gave a little squeak of approval.

"Ok, but don't make anything too..." Kaito began, but paused as he met her piercing glare. "...heavy."

"I'm going to leave him with you..." she said, placing the mummy down on the floor in front of him. "And you're going to get along with him while I make us lunch, got it?" Without waiting for a response, she retrieved the frying pan and went back into the kitchenette to prepare the meals.

Kaito stared briefly at the mummy for a moment before going back to wiping the floor. The mummy began to approach him, but the blue-haired man blocked its way by slamming the blunt end of the fork in front of it. Looking up, it began shuddering in fear as its eyes met his glare.

"I'm still cleaning up here so don't get in my way." Kaito warned. He watched it scurry off towards one of the table legs, hiding behind it. With a sigh, Kaito placed the fork down and went back to work. As he finished wiping the floor, he eyed the little mummy, growing curious of the bandages wrapped around its chubby body. He wondered what lay beneath those bandages, but the mummy wasn't going to go near him after he had told it to go away.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, he began looking around for ideas to regain its trust. There had to be something for him to coax it over, but he didn't have anything on him that it might like. As he eyed the ends of his long scarf trailing along the floor, an idea came to mind. Unraveling the scarf from his neck and bunching it up neatly in front of him, he looked back at the mummy still hiding behind the table leg.

"Here, I made you a small bed so you can relax. I'm done cleaning so you can come over here now."

The mummy poked its head out reluctantly, but after seeing his reassuring smile, it ran towards the scarf. Patting down the garment, it hopped onto it and shimmied into the soft fabric. Once it got comfortable, it began drifting off to sleep, its closing eyes barely noticing a human hand flying down towards it...

"Gotcha!"

In the blink of an eye, the mummy found itself helplessly trapped in Kaito's clutches. Kaito used his thumbs to feel its bandaged stomach.

"Whoa, its soft..." To no avail, the mummy tried to squirm away from his grasp, angrily smacking the offending digits. However, the blue-haired man paid no attention to its plight as he turned it around in his hands in awe.

"Hey, looks like you two are getting along!" Miku exclaimed happily as she returned, placing the tray with their food on the table. "Are you playing a game with him, Kaito?"

He didn't look up at her, still focused on the bandages. "Yeah...I'm trying to find the end of its bandage."

Her fist connected with the top of his head for the second time that day.

"Ow!" The impact caused him to let go of the mummy. It landed on the scarf and scurried towards Miku. Kneeling, she watched it climb onto her hands and scramble up her right arm, clinging onto the collar of her shirt.

"What was that for?" Kaito asked, looking up at her with watery eyes as he clutched the top of his head. "I was just trying to see where its bandage ended!"

"Master Saiba said in his letter not to mess with the bandages so don't do it!" With a disgruntled sigh, she transferred the food from the tray to the tabletop.

Not wanting to anger her further, Kaito stayed silent as he collected his scarf and took a seat at the table. As he looked at the two bowls of soup and a tea set, he noticed a platter of cut up fruits and veggies. A notebook and pen lay on the table next to the platter. "What's all that for?"

Miku took her seat across from him. "He must be hungry after travelling all the way here." She looked at the mummy still clinging onto her collar. "But I don't know what he likes."

"That's easy." he said with a smug smile. "It probably likes to eat brains." He quickly regretted his joke as he felt himself shrinking under her fierce glare.

"Kaito, I swear..."

"I'm joking!"

Miku looked back at the mummy on her shoulder, her expression going soft again. "This just crossed my mind right now, but do you have a name?" It shook its head.

She placed a hand under her chin, gazing up at the ceiling. "A nameless mummy, huh? That's no good. You need a name."

Kaito placed his elbows on the table, folding his hands under his chin as he eyed the mummy on her shoulder. "Something along the lines of the word 'mummy' might be a good name."

"Maybe..." she said. "Miiko...Miirai...Mimii...none of those really sound right to me."

"How about Miito?" he suggested. She shook her head, but then her eyes lit up, pounding a fist into her hand.

"Got it! Mii-kun! I'm naming him Mii-kun!" She looked back at the mummy. "What do you think? You like that name?"

The little mummy made a purring sound that seemed like it was repeating the name Miku had given it. After several repeats, it squeaked in delight, nuzzling the girl's shoulder affectionately.

Miku laughed, taking its actions as a sign of approval. "I'm glad you like your name that much, Mii-kun." Turning her head to the platter of fruits and veggies, she grabbed a fork and took a slice a cucumber. "Now, let's get you something to eat. Do you like cucumbers?"

Mii crawled down her arm and onto the table where the cucumber awaited. It took a small sniff at the vegetable and shook its head.

She returned the cucumber to the platter, opening the notebook and marked the chart she made in it. "I guess that's a no then." With the fork, she took a slice of an apple and offered it to Mii. "How about these?"

After taking another sniff, it grabbed the apple off the fork's prong and happily nibbled on the piece of fruit.

"Kaito, did you see that?" she asked eagerly, looking up at him. Kaito swallowed what he was eating before giving her a smile and nod. With a laugh, she picked up the pen and scribbled down more notes in the notebook.

Kaito's smile vanished as he watched Mii nibbling its food. Gazing back down at his food, he absentmindedly stirring the contents of his bowl. He had to admit, the little mummy clearly wasn't a threat and he was starting to feel bad about how he had treated it earlier.

"Kaito?"

"Huh?" His head shot up, seeing her worried expression.

"What's with the long face? Is something wrong with the food?"

"Ah, no, nothing's wrong with it. A thought just came to mind, that's all." He twirled his fork into his soup, winding one of the noodles onto it. Lifting the utensil, he let some of the broth drip off before offering it to the tiny mummy. "Hey you."

Mii instantly dropped its apple at hearing his voice and ran to Miku's hand, hiding under it. Kaito briefly averted its gaze, realizing the slight harshness in his tone. Shaking the building nervousness from self-consciousness, he tried again, this time with a gentler tone and reassuring smile.

"Mii, I'm sorry for being mean to you, but I hope we can still be friends. Would you like to try some noodles? It's not a trick, promise."

It crawled out from under Miku's hand and walked towards Kaito. Kaito was forced to put down the fork as it took his pointer finger with its tiny hands and nuzzled its head against it.

"I think Mii-kun forgives you." Miku said with a grin.

Kaito smiled fondly. "I think so too."

Letting go of Kaito's finger, it went back to the fork and took one end of the noodle. It turned to Miku, happily holding up the piece of food for her to see.

The girl giggled, clapping her hands. "Look at that, Mii-kun. Kaito gave you some food huh? Good for you!" A sudden rumbling sound was heard, causing the girl to blush as she clutched her stomach.

"I think your stomach wants some attention too." Kaito teased, picking up the fork.

Miku smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, maybe it does. Let's eat."

* * *

After lunch, Miku and Kaito were back in the kitchenette sorting out the ingredients Kaito had brought back. Mii sat nearby, watching them.

"I'll start cutting up the veggies and heating the chicken." Miku said. "Maybe you can start making the curry?"

Kaito nodded. "Sure."

A tiny squeak caught their attention and the two looked at the tiny mummy who was flailing its arms.

"What's wrong, Mii-kun?" Miku asked.

With its hands, it began to make gestures. Soon, the two were caught up in a mini charades game as they tried to discern what it was trying to tell them.

"Are you saying you want to help us out?" Kaito asked. It nodded in reply.

"I don't know..." Miku said, placing a hand under her chin. "You're so tiny, Mii-kun. I don't want you hurting yourself."

In a desperate plea, the little mummy fell on its knees, bowing profusely.

"I think he might be able to do something." Kaito said. "Let's give him a chance."

At hearing this, Mii quickly got back on its feet, looking for something it could do to prove itself to the two. Spotting a small and plump carrot nearby, it hurried over to it. With all its strength, it managed to lift the vegetable up above its head with both hands. Sadly, the impressive feat lasted only for a moment as Mii's strength began to give out. The carrot fell, crushing the mummy under it.

"I thought so." Miku said, picking up the carrot and setting it aside. "It's ok, Mii-kun. We got this. You just sit and relax, ok?"

But Mii objected to the idea of relaxing. It looked around and spotted the dirty dishes sitting in a small, water-filled tub. Running over to it, it tried to reach for the sponge, but ended up falling into the water head-first.

"Mii-kun!" Miku and Kaito exclaimed in unison. Miku hastily snatched it out of the water and placed it back on the counter. Mii was shivering as it let out small sneezy noises.

Kaito grabbed a kitchen towel nearby and fervently began drying Mii's bandaged body with it. "Miku, can you get him some water?"

"Y-yes!" Seconds later, she came back with a water bottle that practically towered over Mii.

"Miku, he won't be able to drink from that."

"Hold on, I'm not done yet." Unscrewing the cap, she filled it to the rim with the water from the bottle before offering it to the mummy. "Here you go, Mii-kun. Nice and slow now."

It accepted the small cap from her hand, but cocked its head to one side, looking back up at girl. Understanding its confusion, Miku smiled, taking the water bottle with both hands and lifting its rim to her lips.

"You drink from it like this. That way, you don't spill the water."

Looking back down at the cap in its hands, Mii mimicked her movements. Tiny gulping noises could be heard as it gratefully chugged down the water in the cap. Once it had downed the contents, it held out the cap to her.

"You want more?" Miku asked, taking the cap and refilling it with more water. "Here you go. Don't drink it too fast though or you'll choke."

Kaito sighed as he put down the towel. "I don't think he's going to take no for an answer. He really wants to help us prepare." He looked at the counter where the meat and veggies were waiting to be cooked. An idea suddenly came to mind as he eyed a large kitchen knife. "I'll be right back."

Miku saw him disappear into the living room. "Huh?" A squeak brought her attention back to Mii, who was now nuzzling her finger. She returned its affection by scratching its back with her finger.

"Here we go." Kaito came back with supplies in his hands. He laid them on the counter opposite from the two.

Miku looked over his shoulder. On the counter were two small wooden blocks, glue, packing tape, and a retractable box cutter. "What's all of this?"

"You'll see." he replied, snapping the long blade of the box cutter in half. Applying the glue to one side of each block, he enclosed one end of the blade in between the blocks. To make sure the blocks wouldn't come apart, he wound a strip of packing tape around it. Pleased with his handiwork, he turned to Mii and placed his finished work on the counter in front of it. "There. I made you a custom kitchen knife. Now you can help us."

Mii picked up the makeshift knife with both hands, testing its weight. Satisfied with Kaito's handiwork, it happily waved it around.

"You're a genius, Kaito!" Miku exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Looks like Mii-kun loves it!"

Kaito felt his cheeks flush as he heard the compliment and saw the pleased expression on her face. "It's nothing special." He quickly turned away from them, busying himself with gathering his supplies. "I-I'm going to put these away." He hoped she didn't see his face.

Fortunately, the girl's attention was still on the mummy. "Ok. We'll get started here."

Once he had put the supplies back in his bag, Kaito returned to the kitchenette and washed his hands in the sink. He saw Miku starting the fire on the stove. Mii was sitting on the counter, using the makeshift knife to cut thin strips of cucumber into small cubes.

"Oh, I forgot to get something upstairs." Miku said. "I'll be right back. Watch the stove for me?"

Drying his hands with a towel, he nodded and took her place, standing in front of the pot. "You're boiling this, right?"

"Yeah."

He watched her go into the living room, hearing her footsteps as she bounded up the stairs. Looking back at the pot, he saw the lumps of chicken thighs sitting in the warming water. Replacing the lid, he gazed over at Mii. The mummy had its back to him, but he could tell it was enjoying itself. With each cut from the makeshift knife, little cubes of cucumber would bounce off to the side on the counter.

As he looked at the other ingredients laid out on the countertop, he suddenly had a craving for ice cream. _"I wonder if Miku still has those chocolate bars."_ Going over to the fridge, he opened the door of the top compartment.

Meanwhile, Mii was still at work with a cucumber strip. Bringing down the knife, another cube bounced along the surface of the counter. The mummy began to panic as it noticed it bouncing towards the edge. Dropping the knife, Mii ran after it, but lost its footing as it stepped on a cubed cucumber that was laying around nearby. Just like the cucumber, the tiny mummy had also tumbled off the counter...

Feeling something was amiss, Kaito closed the freezer door to see Mii falling to the floor. He bolted towards it and took a dive forward, feeling relieved as his outstretched hands felt the mummy's soft bandages. Cradling it in his hands, he tucked his head in and forward rolled along the floor until he smacked into the wall face-first.

"Ow...that's going to leave a mark tomorrow." he said, rubbing his sore forehead. "My head seems to be the target of everything today."

The sound of rushed footsteps was heard from the living room. "Everything ok in there?" Moments later, Miku emerged into the kitchenette. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw him sitting sprawled on the floor holding Mii in one hand.

She knelt beside them. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I was looking through the freezer one minute and the next, I see Mii falling off the counter." he explained, looking down at the mummy now cowering on his hand. "But forget about that. Are you ok, Mii? How did you fall from the counter?"

The mummy frantically pointed its arms in the direction of the cucumber cube that was now lying on the floor.

"The cucumber? Were you trying to save it from falling?" Miku asked. It nodded, its eyes watering.

"Don't cry. It's ok." Kaito said, gently patting its head. "I'm sorry, I should have watched you more carefully too, but I'm glad you're not hurt." From his periphery, he noticed teal hair leaning close to him...a little too close.

"Miku, what are you doing?"

"You got a cut on your forehead." He felt his forehead before bringing his hand in front of him.

"Oh, yup, that's blood alright."

The girl quickly went to one of the drawers nearby and retrieved the first aid kit. Kneeling beside him, she opened the kit and took out an ointment and a Band-Aid.

"Miku, I-I can do it. You don't need to-"

"Hold still." she ordered, quickly cutting him off. Mii stayed silent, curiously watching them.

"There. All finished." Miku said with a smile as she finished applying the Band-Aid.

"Thanks..." he said almost inaudibly. She noticed Kaito's slightly reddened face and his averting gaze.

"Is something still hurting you? Your face looks flushed."

"No!" he quickly answered, turning his head away from her. "I-I'm fine!"

Miku raised an eyebrow, but the scent of cooking meat alerted her to the stove. Getting to her feet, she went over to the pot and checked the contents. "Looks like the chicken's ready!"

Using the opportunity to compose himself, Kaito got to his feet and went to the counter. Mii hopped off his hand and looked back up at him.

"Don't worry about the cucumber that fell." he assured the mummy. "We still got a lot of those to spare." It nodded, hugging and nuzzling its head against his pointer finger.

Miku turned off the stove and cleaned up the first-aid kit and cucumber from the floor. "I'm so glad you two are getting along now. Otherwise, I would have stuffed you in that coffin and sent you packing to Master Saiba."

"Would I even fit in that thing?" he asked, feeling a burning sensation coming from his finger. "Ok, Mii, that's a little too much-ow!"

The mummy was in the air again as he quickly retracted his finger...

"Kaito! Don't throw Mii-kun like that!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to!"

"Why do you always have to do stupid things after I say something nice to you?"

"I said I'm sorry! It's not like I _wanted_ to throw him. And since when was wanting to stuff me in a coffin considered a compliment?"

"I wasn't talking about that, you idiot!"

The three worked throughout the rest of the afternoon, preparing for the dinner party. By the time evening rolled around, the food was ready and the guests had arrived at Miku's place. Their music producer, Saiba, surprised everyone with his arrival so Miku's birthday celebration also became a welcome home party for him. After dinner, they took a group photo and then proceeded with karaoke. The fun continued throughout the rest of the night and lasted well past the midnight hour.

By 2am, the guests had left, leaving only Miku and Kaito once more. He helped her tidy up the house before bidding them a good night and going home as well. Miku decided to go upstairs and turn in for the night. After getting ready for bed, she retreated into her room, smiling as she found Mii standing on her nightstand, looking at the group photo they had taken earlier.

"You really like that picture, don't you?" she asked, climbing into her bed and pulling the covers over herself. Extending her hand to the mummy, it nodded and hopped on. Retracting her hand, she gently set Mii down on her pillow. The girl then took out a teal kerchief from under the pillow and draped the fabric across its body. "There, you won't be cold now."

Mii found her thumb and hugged it with its arms. Finding comfort within the kerchief and her hand, its eyes began to close.

"Good night, Mii-kun." Miku whispered. She looked at the pictures on the nightstand. As she looked at Saiba's photo from Egypt, her eyes wandered over to the music stand nearby. On it sat the music sheet he had given to her during the party. "Leave it to Master Saiba to come up with something for me to sing, even during his vacation."

Looking past the music stand, teal eyes gazed at the ominous coffin that Mii was packaged in, its golden cross giving off a dull gleam. One of these days, she was going to ask Saiba why he chose to send such a tiny mummy in such a huge coffin. In her opinion, something more cuter and suitable to its size would have sufficed.

With a small chuckle, she looked back at the now-sleeping mummy before reaching over to the nightstand to switch off the lamp.

"A tiny mummy, a scary coffin, and a huge pyramid...it's a Sand Planet for sure."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The name of the song is _Sand Planet_ by Hachi-P. Go listen to it! And yes, I changed the producer's name in my story for disclaimer purposes.


End file.
